Sudden Attack MMOFPS Review

While they're becoming well known for the upcoming Project E, GameHi has introduced gamers to Sudden Attack to hold people off in the meantime. But is this substitute a worthy addition to the crowding MMOFPS genre?

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GameHi, Why?

GameHi what happened? I had such high hopes for Sudden Attack, especially after GameHi's formal anonuncement for publishing the upcoming Project E in North America for 2010. However, when I finally got around to playing Sudden Attack, it turned out to be an utterly crappy experience. Really, it just makes you question what happened? The game is broken in more than one way and it makes me question how it managed to reach open beta in the shape that it’s in. I’m not sure where to even begin in saying nice things about Sudden Attack but the whole point of the review is to describe whether or not any parts of this game are salvageable as play-worthy, but sadly I can’t think of any.

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Gameplay

Much like any other humdrum MMOFPS out there, Sudden Attack doles out the most basic of gameplay mechanics available. Players will run, duck, jump and shoot. That’s it. Unlike Operation 7 or Mercenary Wars, gamers cannot peep around corners or use much of any kind of cover fire whatsoever. In fact, the general gameplay premise revolves around running out in the open and trying to get a headshot before your opponent does. Yeah, it’s as trite as it sounds.

What makes Sudden Attack such a horrendous experience is that the weapons are extremely inconsistent. It may take 20 or so shots to down an enemy if you shoot at their arms, legs or body but only one shot to take out opponents with a headshot. This means that whoever has the most accurate weapon will get the most kills. Pistols feel underpowered and the game generally shows favoritism towards snipers, especially considering that high powered rifles usually equate to instant kills with their stable accuracy. You can forget about an evenly balanced experience such as those found in Combat Arms.

Grenades are a random collection of occurrences that may or may not result in a kill, loss of life or no damage at all, given their odd range of effect. Because of the unreliability of grenades most players will just run into a scenario lobbing them recklessly overhead in hopes of hitting a stray opponent. By now you should get the hint that gameplay wise, Sudden Attack does live up to its title and offers little tactics for players looking for something more than just a mindless run-and-gun shooter.

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Maps

I’m not sure what’s worse in this game between the actual gameplay mechanics or the map designs. I found myself spending a few rounds dying purposefully just to scout out the design of each map and understand a reasonable way to tactically face off against opponents…that was a luckless venture. The maps really aren’t designed for teams to go in using a strategy, working together or plotting a course for victory. As mentioned in the previous section about the gameplay, Sudden Attack’s design adopts itself to gamers who enjoy running out wildly and getting headshots with the flick of their wrist and the click of their index finger.

The bridge was one of the few stages that nearly offered a few opportunities for strategically facing off against opponents, but many of the parts dwindled down into head-to-head face offs with the opposing team in long corridors or straightaway-gaps. The Chinatown map and submarine docking station had good designs but still favored a lot of camping areas and run-and-gunning. If you find that tactic-less online shooting is your kind of game then you’ll love the maps in Sudden Attack. They are the complete opposite of the maps in Mercenary Wars or Operation 7.

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Concept

I’m not sure what the developers were thinking with this game, but it really does nothing new whatsoever. Not only does the game lack any new or innovative game modes, but it lacks originality for all of the content that is in the game. The guns are just complete standard-fare military weapons that most gamers will find in any other title. If the weapon cache was going to be as limited as it was, though, one would have thought that the game would at least feature a robust customization system, but it doesn’t.

What gamers get in Sudden Attack is just another unoriginal, online shooter with a lot of mundane, seen-it-all-before content. No new take on deathmatch, no new opportunities to explore various weapon types or skills...nothing. I’m not really sure what GameHi was expecting most gamers to think of this title but fun and original are not the words that come to mind.

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Graphics And Sound

Don’t expect anything groundbreaking or mind-blowing in Sudden Attack. This game is not Alliance of Valiant Arms. The game’s visuals aren’t a tenebrous cloud over the MMOFPS genre but they inevitably still leave a lot to be desired. The weapon animations are average but the textures for the characters and maps are bland; the lighting system is bleak and the sounds are a bit piercing and somewhat annoying.

The audio and visuals are just inappropriately stolid. I didn’t think a game could marginalize itself at being really good at being really unoriginal and creatively lethargic, but Sudden Attack managed to meet that standard with flying colors. And that’s not a good thing.

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Overall

This game is worth avoiding at all costs. If you feel like competing with a bunch of foul-mouthed 12 year olds with twitchy fingers and nothing better to do, then be my guest and try out Sudden Attack. But by comparison to just about every other online multiplayer shooter out there, this has to be one of the worst I’ve played.

I’m actually tempted to say that gamers would be better off playing Alliance of Valiant Arms over this and I wasn’t too impressed with the balancing in that game. Nevertheless, gamers looking for a content-heavy shooter with decent graphics and balanced weapons would probably be better off with Combat Arms or Mercenary Wars.